FactCheckNI launching April 7 in Belfast

UPDATE: Alexios Mantzarlis filed this piece about the fact-checking startup for Poynter.org, based on his recent trip to Northern Ireland.

By providing objective, fact-based analyses devoid of partisanship, the nascent initiative aims to be a dispassionate arbiter in a landscape traditionally fractured along ideological lines. …

As with many fact-checking organizations, FactCheckNI hopes to spur corrections but also foster a culture of critical thinking that transcends political preferences.

ORIGINAL POST:

FactCheckNI, an independent organization to check political statements and other key issues in Northern Ireland, has announced a 7 April launch. The Belfast kickoff event will feature Alexios Mantzarlis, director of the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter, and Will Moy, director of Full Fact.

The journalism service couldn’t come at a better time, with the historic Brexit vote in June on top of the usual mash of Northern politics.